Posted on 09/04/2007 8:40:11 PM PDT by SmithL
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson's current political playbook - a high-profile visit to the "Tonight" show, a splashy bus tour, the efforts to take a familiar actor and reintroduce him in a new political role - contains pages that look eerily familiar to California voters.
Maybe that's because the former Tennessee senator now has at his side some of same key aides who - in nine short weeks - helped transform Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger from "The Terminator" into the chief executive of the Democratic-leaning most populous state in the nation.
Thompson plans to formally kick off his presidential bid - shaped around the themes of "security, unity and prosperity" - beginning today with a blitz that reflects his media savvy and his advantages as an actor better known to many Americans as District Attorney Arthur Branch on TV's "Law & Order."
Thompson's campaign includes two veterans of another whirlwind effort - the 2003 California recall election starring Schwarzenegger - who know first hand at least some of the challenges ahead.
They are Todd Harris, who was Schwarzenegger's campaign communications director and will hold the same title for Thompson, and veteran Republican strategist and Fox News commentator Karen Hanretty, the former press secretary for the 2003 recall effort, who will be Thompson's deputy communications director.
Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's current communicators director, said the pair provide Thompson a "a big picture thinker out of the box" - Harris - and "one of the most effective political spokeswomen in the country" - Hanretty.
Both are "seasoned in translating the benefits that someone has from working in entertainment into a political reality," he said. "For Fred Thompson, it's a very smart hire: there's not a lot of people who understand taking a national entertainment figure and translating that into political value."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
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I sure hope so. We shall see of what we are made in this coming primary, more than ever.
To pay for his nanny-state programs.
strong military/national defense
It really helps credibility when you follow the MSM line and tell the professionals running the show that it's a "mess".
and strong families
By endorsing gay adoptions and gay scoutmasters.
I'm sorry... I missed when Thompson went from being a member of the CFR to being appointed it's "darling". Do you have a link for that?
I see you are back to lying by omission. Fred voted to convict on obstruction. He had a former prosecutor's eye for the perjury count and found it lacking. But it would only take one count to remove Slick.
Aren’t you just a little embarrassed by the fact that your guy has dodged the debates?
Aren't you the least bit embarassed by your continued games with the truth?
Yes, let's.
Romney plays follow-the-leader, jumping into this over-accelerated race early, and slogs through the summer as just another name on the rubber-chicken circuit, blowing through millions of dollars to eke out a position in a tenuous third place, within the margin of error of the doomed McCain candidacy.
Thompson bides his own time, takes the time to put together a solid team, refuses to jump through anyone else's hoops in terms of timing, and generally does things his own way.
Which one is the leader?
Mitt is running on the main three legs of conservative Republican beliefs: Strong military and defense; growth via low taxes and less regulation and conservative reforms; and family values. It’s the right unifying message for 2008 for the party, and he’s an articulate, very competent and good-character package for it that will be an appealing contrast to Hillary and the Democrats.
Romney is a complete hypocrite.
I don’t believe anything he says.
He is pro-gay, anti-gun, and pro-fetal stem cell research on “unwanted” embryos.
And more hilarity from you. Who do you think was Ahnold's inspiration for Ahnold-Care? Why, Mitt. Arnold's running California the way Mitt ran Massachussetts - as a big-government liberal Republican long on charm and short on conservative values.
Romney was suspiciously pro-life as Governor. He didn’t do a thing to help the pro-aborts. The pro-abort Democrats got really burned, don’t like Romney.
“Romney has done his best to defend the culture of life on what is probably the most inhospitable terrain in the country. - John J. Miller (National Review)
“For the pro-life community, words are not enough. We expect action from pro-life leaders and Governor Romney has taken the pro-life position on every abortion-related issue heÂ’s faced since being elected:
* He vetoed an emergency contraception bill and offered a compelling case for life in the process.
* He fought efforts to advance embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts, despite overwhelming opposition.
* He pledged to veto any effort to expand access to RU-486, the abortion pill.
* He has faced constant ridicule from pro-abortion organizations for refusing to give in to their demands.
* He actively promotes abstinence education programs in MassachusettsÂ’ schools. The abstinence movement and the pro-life movement work hand-in-hand to reduce the number of teen pregnancies and to promote true sexual health to AmericaÂ’s youth. “
http://www.americansformitt.com/prolife_perspective.html
hey....fine women are what make this world go around for me...I worship them
...and Fred does too which is why they can’t find any to speak poorly of him
and women....at least down here understand that too
i make no apologies....respectfully
“Mitt’s is a strong economy”
“To pay for his nanny-state programs.”
Um, no, the nanny-state guy is Huckabee.
Mitt Romney was the first and so far only candidate to pledge to limit domestic spending to inflation only. He did that a CPAC earlier this year. All the candidates should follow Mitt’s lead on that aspect of fiscal conservatism.
Funny you mention the gay stuff ... but Mitt Romney has been the most emphatic defender of family values in this race, being the only one who mentioned defending traditional marriage in the first debate, being for FMA while others wimp out on it, etc.
Check that Teddy Roosevelt quote about the man in the arena.
Romney is the leader. Leads in fundraising, leads in key early states like IA and NH, leads in cash on hand, leads in ideas for conservative reform and foreign and domestic policy proposals. He leads by sticking to all the key pillars of the Reagan coalition - family values, strong military, fiscal conservatism. Leads in debates.
Thompson, Rudy, McCain have the advantage of previous media celebrity, so are nationally known figures who get instance name ID. Romney has a different advantage: He succeeds at practically everything he does.
Let the best man win.
Was that before or after he proposed RomneyCare™?
Still less than candidates have gotten in the past. People are still sitting on the sideline, waiting.
leads in key early states like IA and NH
Which, thanks to the craziness of this cycle, mean an order of magnitude less than in previous years. In larger states with more delegates, he's getting trounced. leads in cash on hand
Only because of his own cash infusions. He's also at a near net $0 if you offset cash on hand with campaign debt.
leads in ideas for conservative reform and foreign and domestic policy proposals
Uh-huh. Like I'm going to trust any plans put forth by someone who lied to his own electorate in the past, as not only admitted to, but celebrated by his own supporters.
He leads by sticking to all the key pillars of the Reagan coalition - family values
Such as gay adoption and gay scoutmasters?
strong military,
As in the "mess" in Iraq?
fiscal conservatism.
Nationalized/socialized health care?
Not exactly a Reagan trifecta there.
Given your avid support of Schwarzenegger, I find this telling... or at least amusing.
FORMER support!
Lesson learned. “;^(
“Romney is a complete hypocrite.”
Yeah, he preaches family values, and is married 3 time ... no wait, that’s Rudy. ... married one time, with grandkids.
He preaches fiscal responsibility yet was Mass. governor, where he ... turned a proposed tax hike into a cut, and vetoed many spending bills. hmmm.
He says he is prolife yet as governor, look at what he did ...
“For the pro-life community, words are not enough. We expect action from pro-life leaders and Governor Romney has taken the pro-life position on every abortion-related issue he’s faced since being elected:
* He vetoed an emergency contraception bill and offered a compelling case for life in the process.
* He fought efforts to advance embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts, despite overwhelming opposition.
* He pledged to veto any effort to expand access to RU-486, the abortion pill.
* He has faced constant ridicule from pro-abortion organizations for refusing to give in to their demands.
* He actively promotes abstinence education programs in Massachusetts’ schools. The abstinence movement and the pro-life movement work hand-in-hand to reduce the number of teen pregnancies and to promote true sexual health to America’s youth.”
Huh.... You know, every politician could be called a hyprocrite for saying Y at some point in time, and saying or doing something contradictory to that at another time.
We could play that gotcha game on Rudy big-time, and on FredT on immigration, his McCain-Feingold support, and other things. What’s interesting about the Romney critics are how they seem impervious to facts and balance in the matter. The sum of Romney’s political stances to them are a few comments in a debate against Ted Kennedy, not the rest of his life.
He’s ‘anti-gun’ even though the few bills he signed were NRA supported. He’s attacked for things in Mass. that occured before he was even governor. And his conservative actions are ignored.
“…Romney has done his best to defend the culture of life on what is probably the most inhospitable terrain in the country.”–John J. Miller (National Review)
BTW: Since when is being opposed to gay marriage ‘pro-gay’.
I would not argue that Romney probably looks pro-life by Massachusetts standards
but not by Mississippi standards
or those of his own religion
and his conversion was impeccably timed
to be frank though....Thompson who has a good record on abortion has not always spoken with the clarity I’d like on the matter either....I think once actually a reporter claimed Thompson told him something folks interpreted as pro-”choice”
this will all be settled soon enough...by the spring...sadly, it may come down to the money
He said that gays raising children is “The American Way”.
He said his administration would be the most pro-gay ever.
He changed his strong support of abortion JUST in time to run for the presidency.
I stand corrected. ;-)
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